IPL 2023 Auction: Why Kolkata Knight Riders may encounter some problems in the auction

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Two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders will be heading to the IPL 2023 auction with some potential problems on their hands.

The Knight Riders need to stitch up a decent team that can fight for the title next year, but they may suffer big time in the auction.

Kolkata Knight Riders still have 11 slots to fill in their squad. The Knight Riders let go of 15 players prior to the auction.

Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Ajinkya Rahane, and Mohammad Nabi were among the players who were shown the door.

Then the Kolkata-based franchise went to trade in three players in the transfer window- Lockie Ferguson, Rahmanullah Gurbaz was included from Gujarat Titans, while Shardul Thakur was traded in from Delhi Capitals.

KKR and RCB with minimum purse left:

As the Knights take the auction table in Kochi on December 23, they will have the lowest budget. With Sunrisers Hyderabad (INR 42.25 crore), Punjab Kings (INR 32.20 crore), Lucknow Super Giants (INR 23.35 crore) and others having massive budgets, the KKR just have INR 7.05 crore in their kitty.

And that can put a significant dent in their business in the upcoming auction. KKR won't be able to use up a significant amount of the money left on a player or two, as that will diminish their budget even further, thus making their squad short, a mistake that they made a couple of years ago and suffered big time.

KKR and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have one-digit purses (one digit in terms of crore amounts). Apart from RCB (INR 8.75 crore) and KKR, all the other teams have more than 13 crore in their bank. RCB are still at a better place than KKR as the former can buy 7 players maximum, while the Knights can only complete their quota by signing 11 players.

Kolkata Knight Riders may have to pass on many players:

The Kolkata Knight Riders think tank must have a strategy in the auction, but it looks certain that they will leave out some names from their plan. Players like Cameron Green, Travis Head, Sam Curran, Ben Stokes, Nicholas Pooran and others are expected to go big, and the Knights may have to pass on the marquee names. Because they may well be outbid by the other franchises in the war, or even if they manage to get one player in the race, their subsequent budget will get curbed, even more, making things a lot tougher for them.

Hence the Knight fans will have to expect a quiet time for their team in the IPL auction, as the two-time IPL champions will have to be measured in their action at the auction table.

Kolkata Knight Riders Main Focus in IPL Auction 2023:

Kolkata Knight Riders do have a formidable squad. The Knights are still short in some areas. They would like to add one opener to their ranks, especially after releasing 4 openers in the window. They would also require a middle-order batsman, and a couple of all-rounders. They didn't have any left-arm pacer in the last edition and would be eyeing to have someone in that department.

All in all, it doesn't seem they will be super busy in the auction. With the curtailed budget, the Knights will have to be extra careful with their bids as they can't make any rash decisions at the auction table. Can the Kolkata side rack up a team that can challenge for the title? We will get a clearer idea on December 23.